Raising the minimum wage (minimum wage) in 2020 will affect 3.2 million Russians, said Minister of Labor and Social Protection Maxim Topilin. According to him, the state will allocate about 20.9 billion rubles for these purposes.

“The total budget expenditures of the budget system of the Russian Federation will amount to 20.9 billion rubles, including 5.8 billion rubles from the federal budget and 15.1 billion rubles from regional budgets,” the Minister told TASS.

“The increase in the minimum wage will affect about 3.2 million people, half of whom are employed in state and municipal institutions,” Topilin explained.

Recall that the current level of the federal minimum wage is fixed at 11,280 rubles, and from January 1, 2020 it will be increased by 7.5% to 12,130 rubles. The head of the Ministry of Labor noted that, according to the available estimate, the expenses of organizations of the real sector of the economy for these purposes will amount to 20.8 billion rubles.

It is worth noting that the minimum wage is different from one Russian region to another, for example, in Moscow it is 19 351 rubles, and in St. Petersburg 18 thousand rubles. Subjects themselves determine this indicator depending on the cost of living, however, it cannot be lower than the federal value.

The value of the minimum wage is also taken into account when calculating sick leave, unemployment benefits and caring for a child up to one and a half years. If the minimum wage increases, so do other payments tied to it.

Initially, it was assumed that the minimum wage will increase in 2021. In May, Topilin said that from January 1, 2021 the cost of the consumer basket (the minimum set of products and goods) will be increased, and therefore the minimum wage will be raised. However, the Ministry of Labor already in August proposed increasing the minimum wage from 2020.

Commenting on this initiative, Svetlana Bessarab, a member of the State Duma Committee on Labor, Social Policy and Veterans' Affairs, noted in an interview with the FAN that the minimum wage level, of course, needs to be raised. However, the parliamentarian called for a redesign of the method of calculating the cost of living, which is tied to the minimum wage. In her opinion, the real consumer basket should be at the level of 19-20 thousand rubles, where food products will occupy about 25%, and housing and communal services and mobile communications - about 20%.

  • Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Russian Federation Maxim Topilin
  • RIA News
  • © Vitaly Belousov

“Halve poverty”

It is worth noting that raising the minimum wage is one of the tools to combat poverty. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, in the second quarter of 2019, the number of poor Russians fell by 2.3 million people to 18.6 million. Their share in the country's population was 12.7%.

It should be noted that in 2018 the share of the poor in the structure of the population was lower - 12.5%. This is due to the fact that the level of the living wage, determined by the state, grew faster than inflation and incomes of the population, and therefore those who were not previously included in the category of poor. However, this legal status allows them to claim benefits and state assistance.

The Ministry of Labor expects that by the end of 2019 the situation will improve.

“The semester of this year to the semester of the previous year - poverty increased from 12.5% ​​to 12.7%. But we expect that by the end of the year the dynamics will become positive: as a rule, December of next year is better than December of the previous one, ”Topilin said.

The most significant changes will be from 2021, the minister said. According to him, this is due to the expansion of the consumer basket.

“Since 2021, the consumer basket will change. If we talk about a relatively rational basket, we need to increase the basket for the able-bodied population and for pensioners, in this we do not hold out (for children - more or less relevant indicators). Depending on how much the basket grows, the minimum wage, regional additional payments for pensions, and children's allowances will increase by how much. All this will affect poverty reduction, ”Topilin emphasized.

However, it is worth separating the legal and actual definition of poverty. The minister explained that an increase in the cost of living, a change in the consumer basket and a rise in prices could lead to an increase in the number of poor Russians, since the "bar will be higher." Thus, if the basket remained unchanged, the number of poor in the population structure would be reduced, Topilin added.

“We proceed from the fact that we should consider poverty in comparison with the old basket. In comparable terms, poverty should decrease, ”the official stressed.

Recall that Russian President Vladimir Putin, in a message to the Federal Assembly in March 2018, instructed to reduce poverty by at least half within 6 years - from 20 million Russians (at that time) to 10 million.

“We must solve one of the key tasks for the coming decade - to ensure a steady, long-term growth in real incomes of citizens, and to reduce poverty by at least half the level of poverty,” the head of state emphasized.

Nevertheless, in August 2019, Putin noted that household incomes are growing too slowly.

“Inflation is gradually approaching the target, and now it is about 4.5% in annual terms. But even against this background, and given the increase in salaries in the economy, real incomes of people are growing slowly. This state of affairs cannot but cause concern, ”he said during a meeting on economic issues.